Harris Says It’s a ‘Myth’ That Trump Was Responsible for Stimulus Checks — Do You Even Care?
Written by
Adam Palasciano
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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The COVID-19 pandemic was unlike anything seen in a century. The global economy suddenly came to a standstill, and the U.S. quickly followed suit. Millions of Americans found themselves out of work, prices went up and housing became more expensive. Many Americans found themselves in need of cash flow during this unprecedented time, and the government stepped in to intervene.
According to the Pandemic Oversight Department of the U.S. Government, “More than 476 million payments totaling $814 billion in financial relief went to households impacted by the pandemic.”
This was an unprecedented move by the U.S. government, with many Americans receiving thousands of dollars in “Economic Impact Payments” — otherwise known as stimulus checks. However, there is a widely believed “myth” about the stimulus checks and who exactly issued them.
Also, find out about some forms of economic stimulus the U.S. might see if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected as the next president.
Congress Pushed for Pandemic Stimulus Checks, Not Trump
In a recent Instagram post, Harris explained that it was the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives during the pandemic that pushed to send stimulus checks out to give financial help to the American people, not former President Donald Trump.
“The reason those came about is because there was a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives in Congress. People like Maxine Waters. People like Hakeem Jeffries … who did the work of pushing to say ‘People need help right now and we need to send out checks.’ There was a whole lot of opposition to it, including from Donald Trump’s White House.”
Harris furthered her point by saying that Congress holds the purse, and it was Congress that issued those checks to the American people. Trump simply put his name on the checks.
Because of this, she explained that many people have been led to believe that Trump was the one who gave them stimulus checks.
Do the American People Care Who Sent Them Stimulus Checks?
Since the American people received pandemic stimulus checks during the Trump presidency, and Trump was able to get his name added to the checks, it is unsurprising that many believe Trump himself issued the payments.
Depending on how closely you pay attention to the facts, you may or may not care where the money came from and who paid it to you. It is largely considered unlikely that further stimulus checks are forthcoming, so it would be unwise to factor them into your future financial plans, regardless.
However, this myth may play into voters’ decisions during presidential election this week — those who believe the stimulus checks were a good move may be swayed to vote for Trump, while those believing the checks were unwise in the long term might be more inclined to vote for Harris.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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